Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

This conversation is moderated according to USA TODAY's
community rules.
Please read the rules before joining the discussion.

179th Airlift Wing watching D.C.

Todd Hill
Published 7:37 p.m. ET June 17, 2015

CLOSE

Submitted photo by Tech Sgt. Joseph HarwoodAirman John Ningar, on the loader, unloads the first Multi-Mission Crew Trainer on Oct. 28. The MMCT is a virtual flight simulation program for training on the C-130H Hercules. Airman John Ningard, operates the 25k loader to remove three pallets off of a C-130H Hercules. The 179th Airlift Wing received the first Multi-Mission Crew Trainer (MMCT) delivered to the Air National Guard(ANG), Oct. 28, 2014, Mansfield, OH. The MMCT is a virtual flight simulation program for training on the C-130H Hercules.(U.S. Air National Guard Photo by TSgt Joseph Harwood \Released)(Photo: TSgt Joe Harwood)

Members and supporters of Mansfield’s 179th Air National Guard Airlift Wing received a timely Christmas present late last year when Congress, after many delays, assured the continued viability of the unit’s fleet of C-130H aircraft in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2015.

Assembling the NDAA is an annual ritual in Washington, however, with work now beginning on the legislation for 2016. And until the 179th’s eight transport planes are upgraded with modern avionics, as called for in the 2015 act, the watching and waiting will continue as well.

“We have to keep our eye on that ball,” Rich Green, former commander of the 179th and now leader of the Mansfield Military Affairs Council, said.

Green sat down with Colonel Gary McCue, the 179th’s current commander, Wednesday to get an update on which specific modifications are anticipated for the airlift wing’s C-130 Hercules planes. But the most vital element is ADS-B.

The unit’s aircraft would be prevented from flying across much of the globe by 2020 unless enhanced communication gear, known technically as Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast-Out, is installed on them. ADS-B installation costs can approach six figures for a single C-130H plane.

The Air Force has in the past expressed reluctance to see that Air Guard’s C-130H fleet remain viable, but that’s hardly the only threat units such as Mansfield’s 179th have faced in recent years. The Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission, or BRAC, of 2005 momentarily put the 179th on the chopping block, although that BRAC ultimately worked to the unit’s benefit.

Last year’s NDAA included an amendment, co-sponsored by Senators Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, among many others, that allowed the Air Force to use alternative programs and funding in addition to the Avionics Modernization Program to modernize the C-130H fleet, but that only got it to this point, with a new NDAA now in the drafting stages.

For 2016, Brown is co-sponsoring an amendment calling on the Air Force to coordinate with the FAA to meet the modernization regulations required in five years.

“Modernizing the Air Force’s C-130H fleet will support jobs in Richland County and give the men and women at Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base the opportunity to continue their important work,” the senator said.

“Ohio’s National Guard carries out missions that provide emergency response support and humanitarian aid. I’ll keep advocating for this modernization so these critical missions can continue.”

Although it’s early in the process for the 2016 NDAA, Green is optimistic.

“The legislation is situated where the right stuff can happen. It’s just an execution thing at this point,” he said. He characterized the 2015 NDAA as a clear win for the 179th Airlift Wing.

“But it’s just a necessary first step forward,” he said. “The job will not be done until the required modifications are complete and the Air Force embraces the value of a strong and ready Air Guard.”